YA Literature Argument Essay

All over the world, teens aged 11-17 are reading shockingly gruesome “Young Adult Fiction Books” or YA books. These books cover a vast range of topics and ideas. Some examples include self-harm, sexual abuse, and homicide, but it doesn't stop there. The endless amount of gory topics could even merit an “R” rating for a movie. So, the question is, do we want to allow teens expose themselves to these YA books? This has been an ongoing debate throughout society for years. Critics and authors have been battling it out in articles and live banning debates in schools and libraries across the nation. YA literature should be limited, like in movies, by enforcing age restrictions for purchase or library checkouts, because of graphic content, loss of innocence within teens, and the negative influences it presents.

First of all, most YA literature is much too graphic for certain age groups. There is always going to be those younger kids who desire to do what the older kids can, so naturally they'll read the same books, even if they are too graphic. However, being so immature for example, pre-teens, these books should not be in their hands let alone their minds. “Reading about homicide isn't going to make a man a murderer; reading about cheating on exams won't make a kid break the honor code. It has to do with a child's happiness, moral development, and tenderness of heart. Entertainment does not merely gratify taste, after all, but creates it.” Clearly, a single story is not going to make a person who they are, but by reading gruesome YA books, one after another, teens and even younger kids will grow callous and maybe even become depressed. Obviously no one can work up a truly genuine smile after reading of something like a gory death or graphic rape, especially not younger adults. Even younger children may be trying to get their hands on these books, which, in the long run, are bad for their development, and can adversely affect how kind and selfless they could grow up to be. Another thing it affects is children's taste. People who read graphic content grow to have YA fiction as their only reading preference. For example, mystery murder stories, or tales solely about homicide and finding the killer. No worries for the grieving family, no mention of any funeral. If this grows into a “child's taste” in literature then what can we expect them to become as adults? This graphic material must be restricted because of these long term negative effects.

Secondly, YA books introduce teens to new concepts or ideas that cause a loss of innocence. After being exposed to gruesome topics, teens aren’t just going to forget them. The stories will linger in their minds and once read, they can't be untold. “(In) the latest novel by 'this generation's Judy Blume,' otherwise known as Lauren Myracle, a close friend of the victim, is herself yet to recover from a sexual assault in eighth grade; assorted locals, meanwhile, reveal themselves to be in the grip of homophobia, booze and crystal meths.” and “Acquaints us with the concept of 'bag fags,' heterosexuals who engage in gay sex for drugs”. After reading this, you can experience how twisted books have become. It is known that sexual abuse is a realistic problem in the world and that Myracle's book tackles recovering from it, but in the eighth grade? No one desires to read about a twelve or thirteen year old being raped. It's sickening, depraved, uncommon, and younger readers should not be subjected to read such material. Also the concept of “bag fags” is not only offensive to some but also opens up new ideas and a pathway for obtaining drugs. Selling yourself suggests new ways for teens to get what they want when that shouldn't even be an option. Obtaining drugs also shouldn't be viewed as a normal everyday thing to do, as portrayed in Myracle’s book. It also can’t be that hard for teens to hold off on reading  the really graphic stuff. “Adolescence is brief; it comes to each of us only once, so whether the debate has raged for eons doesn't, on a personal level, really signify”. This shows that in the short time teens are at that age of innocence, they don't need to be exposed for, only a few short years of their life to YA literature and that they can wait until they mature individually. As teens, most have not experienced the horrible things in life and still hold that certain awe of innocence. Some may argue that most teens are already aware of these topics. However, if they already know such pain and sorrow why should we allow them to be exposed to even further? Also if they aren't aware, why should we allow them to be like the others just to have that youthful innocence taken away from them? By practically handing them these books, their dark contents will haunt them and linger in their memories forever.

Some may say that YA books give teens solutions for their problems, however the solved problems portrayed in stories negatively influence them. For example, “The cover [of the novel, “Scars”] shows a horribly scarred forearm- might trigger a sufferer's relapse.” Now the “horribly scarred forearm” is just a picture, but if only a cover of a book has the potential to make a teen cut their own wrists or “self-mutilate” then you can only imagine what the contents of such a book might make them do. One glance of a picture and a week reading, which might influence them more? Obviously teens could face images just like this in the world, but why should we make that possibility even greater? These books should not be in open to teens because the consequences are likely greater than the lessons that might be learned. No one wants teens, or even children to be influenced to foolishly harm themselves over some fictional story with fictional characters, so the only solution is to limit those stories. Another example of negative influence is, “Books focusing on pathologies help normalize them and, in the case of self harm, may even spread their plausibility and likelihood to young people who might otherwise never have imagined such extreme measures.” If tens, because of YA books, regard things like cutting and drugs as casual or normal then that shows they see themselves doing the same even if they learned someone else's solution. We don't want them to take that first step into something that can harm them, therefore limitation, till a proper age, is necessary.

Overall, YA books for younger teens should hold an age limit because of its long-term consequences. Without their child-like innocence and being exposed to graphic content that gives off negative vibes, teens could become a stiff, unkind, scarred generation, whose childhood was taken away from them. Unforgettable images, and graphic words are powerful, sometimes too powerful for teens and children to take in properly. It is every one's job to protect them from that. We don't want our future generation running the world with misperceptions and bad ideas embedded in their mind. It is little things like harsh literature that can change the future of the world because the children are the future.